Roller side bearing for cars



' G. A. WOODMAN .R OLLER SIDE BEARING FOR CARS Fiied June 2. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 10 1925- G. A. WOODMAN ROLLER SIDE BEARING FOR CARS Filed June 2, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

GEORGE A. WOODMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASS IGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO VINCENT J. BURRY, onn-roun'rrr'ro orro s. FLATH, oum'ron, ALL OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIs.

AND ONE-FOURTH 'ro osnonnn E.

ROLLER. srnn BEARING m cans.

Application filed June 2, 1923. Serial No. 642,920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. VOODMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county'of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roller Side Bearings for Cars, of which the following is a specification.

More particularly my invention has to do with an improved side bearing for railway cars which comprises a roller housed within a suitable cage, the roller constituting antifriction'bearing means under normal conditions and its motion being controlled by the cage to prevent rectilinear motion of the roller unaccompanied by rotation thereof, so that the roller will at all times be in a position with respect to the body bolster and the truck'of its car to permit it to function properly. While devices of the character described have been heretofore employed in the construction of railway cars, the means included in these devices for controlling the motion of the rollers have proved unsatisfactory in that in some instances they have shown considerable wear after a comparatively short period of service, and in other instances the motion of the roller is not effectually controlled. I

The main object of my invention is to provide a side bearing for railway cars having improved means for preventing rectilinear motion of the'roller unaccompanied by rotation thereof.

More specific objects of my invention are to provide a side bearing for railway cars which has improved means for effectively controlling the motion of the roller with a minimum of attendant wear to the means and to the roller, and which; has means adapted to permit the roller to adjust itself wvith respect to the arcuate path through which the bolster of the car travels, at the same time, controlling the motion of. th roller as it traverses its path.

Other objects of my invention will become apparent as the detail description progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through my improved side bearing. g r

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my improved side hearing. Y

Fig. 8 is a section taken online 33 of Fig. 1. I

Figs. 4: and 5 are longitudinal sections of side bearings illustrating otherforms which my invention may take.

Referring'for the present to Figs. 1, 2,

and 3, the reference character 10 designates in its entirety a lower bearing blockor cage which forms a part of my improved side bearing. The" cage 10 in accordance'with .common practice is adapted tobe rigidly secured to a truck of a railway car in a position wherein a roller 11 housed within the cage may be engaged by a bolster of the car. The bolster is indicated at 12. His the usual practice to provide each truck and its associated bolster, with a pair of side bearings, the side bearings being diametrically disposed with respect to the axis about which the truck turns.- Under normal conditions the rollers are spaced from the bolster, but when the car body istilt e'd over, the lowered end of the bolster will engage that roller which is associated with it, as'illus trated in Fig. 1. This construction allows the truck to turn freely when the car is be ing drawn around a curve, and alsoprevents excessive rolling or rocking of-the car body upon the center plate of the car. r

The cage 10 preferably comprises a casting having integral side walls 13, end walls 1 1, and a bottom plate 15. 'Secured to the.

recesses 20 in its ends which would in them selves tend to cause the roller to come to rest in the position wherein it is shown in these figures, in which its line of 'cont-act with the plate 17 is on its neutral axis, as the lower portion of the roller (Fig. 1)' will weigh considerably more than the upper portion of the roller. And to, augment the tendency of the roller to assumethe position wherein it is shown in Fig. 1, I preferto give it a somewhat egg-shaped transverse cross secti A plurality of lugs 21 projecting from the ends of the roller also add weight to the lower portion of the roller and tend to make it assume the position as shown in Fig. 1, the position being substantially midway between the endwalls 1 1 of the cage-10,

' As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a frustroconical head at the inner end of the rivet 16 forms a tooth 18 which engages a recess 19 formed in the roller 11 on its neutral axis, the recess 19 being formed substantially mid way between the ends of the roller 11, and the tooth 18 being disposed substantially midway between the end walls let of the cage 10. The frustro-conical tooth 18 may be said to mesh withthe roller asit permits the roller to roll toward either-one of the end walls 14, but preventsrectilinear motion of the roller unaccompanied by rotation thereof. Thus whenthe truck which carries the side bearing turns-on its axis and the roller 11 is engaged bythe bolster 12, the

roller will be displaced-with respect to the frustro-conical tooth 18 and will approach one or-the other of the end walls 14. For ordinary conditions met upon the track it will notbe necessary for the roller 11 to comeinto closeproximity with eitherof the end walls 14 of-the cage, but-when abnormal. conditions are met the roller will be displaced inone direction-until a lug 21 at each end of'the roller comes into engagement with one-of a plurality-of stops 22 which are formedintegrally withthe cage 10. The stops22 lie adjacent the endsoftheroller and in -the path of the aforesaid lugs 21.. It will be noted that the stops 22 are equidistantly spaced from the-tooth18 and are so arrangednthat they prevent the roller .11 from rolling into posit-ions wherein the-tooth 18 would loci-entirely disengaged from the recess 19' formed in the rollerbut when an unusually sharp curve is encountered in the track, the roller willwbe brought into a position wherein apair ofiits lugs21 .Villfttbtlt the stops i22:at vone end of the cage 10. The steps 22 and the. end walls of the cage will then prevent further displacement of the roller, and further angular displaeeinentlof the truck with respect to the bolsteri will: be accompanied. by a sliding engagementbe tweenthe bo-lsteriandthe roller. Ofwcou'rse, as the truclrreturnsto its-normal position wit-lrrespect to the I bolster, the roller will be moved toward its normal p'ositimuwhieh is substantially mi dfway 5 between the en d walls l-tofthe cage. But in any event, when. the car leaves the curve in the tracks and the .car body tends to assume its: normal position with-respect-to the tracks, the bolster will assumev its'. normal position wherein it is spaced-from 'the rollersall. The rollers 11 will then roll? to their normal positions be cause i of :theirlowered 'Lcenters :of .gravityn described;above, j-It isnapparenti that the,

stops 22 and the tooth 18 co-operate to prevent rectilinear'motion of the roller 11 unaccompanied by rotation thereof. It is also apparent that as all transverse sections of the'roller 11 are substantially identical, the roller will seek to move in a straight path. But as the bolster 1-2 may be said to traverse an arcuate path with respect to the'path of the roller it will be readily understood that the roller may adjust itself to follow a path which-lies intermediate its normal path and the arcuatepath of the bolster. This is advantageous in that the roller will seek to follow the path wherein a minimum of wear to the bearing surfaces is occasioned. Of

course, the ability of the roller to adjust itself to the particular conditions obtaining in any certain installation flows from the novel means which I employ to control themotion of the roller. Thus the use of a single frustro-conical tooth ermi ts the inner end of the roller to lag behindlits outer end whenv the'bolster'seeksto drivethe outer end of the roller ahead of its inner end. Another advantage of this construction is that the stops 22 will at all times prevent the roller 11 from coming into positions wherein it coul'd noteasilyv roll back into its normal position. "Therefore, very little play need be allowed between the tooth 18 and the roller 11, as there will be practically no abrading action between the roller and the tooth. Thisis because of the fact that=the surface of the recess 19 need not and does not constantly engagev'the sur' faceof thetooth 18-. It is not necessary that the tooth constantly guide the roller as it moves from its normal position, the function of the tooth beingto prevent rectilinear mo tion of the.roller-unaccompanied by'rotation thereof.

I- will'now describecertain means which I employ to-retaijn-the roller 11 within the cageIOV It will-be noted that thecage 10 is provided with a plurality of inwardly projecting integral walls25" which-flieabove'the lugs projecting fromEthe roller. Thus there is a pair of spaced walls 25 at each side of the roller which are adapted to prevent the roller from being jolted into a position wherein it would not mesh with the tooth 18, and which also prevent withdrawal of the roller from its position within the cage without first tilting it intoa position substantially like that shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. If the roller is tilted intoa posi tion as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the roller may be withdrawn from the cage, as the lugs at each end of the roller will slip through a passageway 26-formed be tween; that pair of inwardly projecting walls 25 which are associated with the lugs. Of course, withdrawal of the rollerfrom'the cage necessitates removal of rivets 2'?"which are driven into apertures 28 in the side walls loss of the rollers, from the cages during shipment of the bearings, and need not be withdrawn from the apertures 28 unless it .becomes necessary to replace the roller 11 or to replace the wear plate 17. I prefer to make the diameters of the apertures 28 somewhat less than the diameters of the rivets 27 so that when the rivets are driven into the apertures they will remain in place until they are forcibly withdrawn from the cage.

The passageways 26 are of suflicient size to permit the roller 11 to be easily withdrawn from the cage after the'rivets 27 have been removed, but are not large enough to permit the roller to be jolted out of the cage when it is in service, if the rivets have been removed. It is for this purpose that'I in cline a portion of each wall 25 as indicated at 30. The particular construction employed permits the roller 11 to move freely through its path but insures against accidental loss of the roller. 7

In Fig. 4 I have shown a side bearing which illustrates another form my invention may take. This side bearing comprises a cage 10 housing a roller 11. The cage 10 and the roller 11 are substantially like the cage 10 and the roller 11 respectively of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, with the exceptions that the roller 11 is provided with lugs 21 which differ from the lugs 21 of the roller 11, and that the cage 10 is provided with stops 22 which differ from the stops 22 of the cage 10. The stops 22 not only prevent shifting rectilinear motion of the roller 11 I toward its normal position within the cage 10, but each of the stops is provided with a shoulder 32 against which its associated lug 21 may rest, the lugs 21 being provided with plane surfaces 33 adapted to lie against the shoulders 32 of that pair of stops 22 which control the roller 11 when the roller is at one or the other end of its limited path of travel. It is apparent that the shoulders 32 aid the end walls 14 of the cage 10 in their task of holding the roller 11 immovable when the truck still continues to turn after the roller has been brought into a position wherein it lies adj acent one of the end walls 14?.

In Fig. I have shown a side bearing which embodies the novel features of my invention and which resembles the side bearing illustrated in Figs. 1,2, and 3. The side bearing shown in Fig. 5 comprises a cage housing a roller 11", which is adapted to roll upon a wear plate 17 secured to the bottom wall of the cage 1O by means of rivets 3t The roller 11 is provided with lugs 21 projecting from its ends, the lugs 21 being identical with the lugs 21 of the roller 11 shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The lugs 21 are adapted to co-operate with stops 22 which are formed integrally with the cage 10. It is apparent that this construction is identical with the construction employed in the side bearing. shownin Figs.

1, 2, and 3. But in the side bearing shown in Fig. 5, the roller 11 is provided with a frustro-conical tooth '18 which may beemployed in place of the frustro-conical .tooth 18'of the side bearingshown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The frustro-conical tooth 18 is adapted to mesh with the cage 10 the wearing'plate 17 being provided with a recess 19 adapted to receive the .tooth 18 The operation and advantages'of this construction are apparent.

I am aware that changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and without sacrificing the advantages of the invention and I reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a side bearing for cars, the combination with a roller having lugs projecting from its ends and a recess in an arcuate surface thereof, of a cage comprising a single tooth engaging the recess in the-roller, and

stops adapted to engage the lugs of the roller to prevent rectilinear motion of the roller toward the tooth without accompanying rotation of the roller.

2. In a side bearing for cars, the combina tion with a roller having lugs projecting from its ends, of a cage comprising a single tooth meshing with the roller, stops spaced from the tooth and disposed in the path of the lugs projecting from the roller, and

means for engaging the lugs to prevent disengagement of the roller from the tooth.

3. In a side bearing for cars, the combination with a roller having lugs projecting from its ends, of a cage comprlsing a single tooth meshing with the roller, stops spaced from the tooth and disposed in the path of the lugs projecting from the roller, and walls having surfaces disposed substantially parallel to the path of the roller and adapted to engage the lugs to limit displacement of the roller relative to the tooth.

4. In a side bearing for cars, the combination with a roller having lugs projecting from'its ends, of a cage comprising spaced walls adapted to engage the lugs to prevent direct withdrawal of the roller from the cage, and separable means disposed intermediate the walls for preventing accidental loss of the roller from the cage.

5. In a side bearing for cars, two members, a cage and a roller therein, one of said members having a single tooth meshing in arece'ss in the other of said members, said tooth and said recess being disposed substantially centrally of said cage, lugs on the end of said roller and stops on the bottom of said cage on either-side of said tooth and said recess to engage said lugs to limit the movement of said roller.

6. A side bearing for cars, comprising tWo members, a cage and a roller therein, said roller being deformed so that it tends to come to rest in a certain position With its neutral axis in contact With the bottom of said cage, and a tooth on one of said members meshing in a recess in the other of said members, said tooth and said recess being disposed in the neutral axis of said roller when it is at rest in its normal position.

. 7. A side bearing for cars, comprising two members, a cage and a roller therein, said rollerbeing deformed so that it tends tocome to rest in-a certain position With-its neutral axis in contact with the bottom of said cage, and a tooth on oneofsaidmembers meshing in a recess in the other of said members, said tooth and said recess being disposed in the neutral axis of said roller When it-is at rest in its normal position lugs on either endof said roller and disposed at the'opposite sides of said neutral axis and stops on the bottom of said cage, and. adapted .to engage said lugs to limit rotation of said roller.

GEORGE A. XVOODMAN. 

